Getting an A

Dear Mr. J.B.,


I got my A because I am a more passionate "showgirl" in my classroom. I have learned to manage my time, resources and energy to come up with a bag of tricks i have designed for the entertainment, enjoyment and growth of my students.



I am a teacher reformed by my experience in teaching Special Ed. I smile more openly to my students and colleagues. I welcome each class with an unwavering vigor, because I know that I am blessed to love what I do.

I no longer seek to punish students who are lazy. I seek to recognize their efforts and their good points. When I enter a grade on the computer, I try to think far ahead into the future and see how a grade would impact my student's future?


I am now preparing for a presentation for my colleagues on how to enrich their bacg of tricks in the classroom using technology. I am excited to share with them the wonders of podcasting, short videos and, online collaboration. I am thrilled to help them befriend technology.


Thank you for being an A profoessor.

scratch that...

i'm one of those kids who get very excited about new things. a new kin d of shampoo, new seasoning mix, a new candy flavor, new book.


a new program to create games.... hmmmm.


and so last year in my mythology class, i thought of using scratch. We didn't really get too far with it. I was a bat frustrated because I felt like an idiot most of the time. But then again, I wasn't a student of EDMT yet so it was not natural (yet) for me to get my fingers dancing on the keys to type and search for video tutorials.


I saw the video tutorials about scratch. it was simple enough, but I think someone, if not me, can make an easier and a simpler and ,ore effective video tutorial. My teacher in our Digital Media and Education Applications class have ingrained a standard in me about length and coverage of video tutorial. "keep it short and simple; break it down."


i'm gonna try scratch with my mythology class again. Maybe we'll get farther this year. :)

On Being Christian and Harry Potter

I became a born again Christian on January 27, 2007. It was literally and figuratively being a new person. I am a new Christian, a toddler if you can call it, so I have a lot more learning to do.

As I walk with Lord, I have come to face my past. One of my past is being quite the Harry Potter fan. I remember getting involved in heated discussions with "narrow-minded" parents who have strongly opposed reading HP in the English class. I remember a lot of things from my old life, and I just shake my head and laugh to myself. Now back to "the one who lived." I remember reading the 7th book in record time, 7 hours and 10 minutes. I read the book within 24 hours. I', sure I'm not the only one with such fanatic tendencies.

But since becoming a Christian, I just felt a natural ebbing away of my enthusiasm regarding anything Harry Potter. I have not even had a recent viewing of any for the 5 movies (all of which I have on DVD) OI have all 8 books in on my shelves, but for some reason, the excitement is not there.

I am glad to have read Chapter 5 of Convergence Culture. I can relate to the dilemma of which side to take. What is a Christian to do?

I was enlightened that some Christians are taking different approaches to deal with Harry Potter and how huge it has become in our culture. I agree with some christian groups who have taken discernment as an approach to look at HP and use it as a means of
strengthening our faith and evaluate the book from a Christian standpoint. I still give credit to JK Rowling for creating readers in a generation of computers, TV, and video games.

I am not going to burn my copies of HP. Maybe on of these days, after grad school, I will read it again and look at it from a Christian discernment standpoint, and maybe share something with my students in Sunday school.

On Being A Potterhead

I am a Harry Potter Fan. I am such a huge fan I attended two midnight parties just so I can get my shaking and caffeine powered hands on the book as soon as it is released to the muggle world.


These pictures were taken on July 16, 2005. The pretty lady I am with in the picture, sporting the same Griffyndor rugby shirt is my partner in crime and bestfriend, Charly.

We had so much fun that night, and we got many compliments on our shirts, which we bough at Old Navy. We found some party pooper Slytherin students in our local Barnes and Noble so for the sake of the book, they agreed to take a photo with us.

The American idol Phenom

Yes, I also used to watch American Idol.

Yes, I have, at one point called the 1866 or 1800 to cast my vote.

I love Kelly Clarkson.

The chapter on American Idol brought back memories of eagerly making it home in time to plop myself in front of the TV and yell out loud to it, either in glee or indignation at the talents and/or lack thereof on the contestants. The cattiness of Simon Cowell was also amusing.

Reading Jenkins book was amusing too. I can definitely say I am one of the people he's talking about. Yes, I was guilty of voting for Jasmine Trias, the Hawaiian contestant because of her Filipino ancestry.

What blew my mind (a bit) was how it took one show to fast forward the popularity of what now is seemingly and indispensable means of communication : texting. FI\inally, America embraced the wonderful world of text messaging. Finally, we caught up with the other half of the world who has used text messaging for quite some time now.


Again, the question the bugged me was, can we use text messagins for a greater good other than teach our youth how to be creative spellers?


I kid you not. In the Philippines, since we don't have 911, one can just text his/her friendly police station for help.


gah.

Spoilers and Survivor

I admit. I was a survivor fan. Had I been a hardcore one, I would've really enjoyed visiting the spoiler sites. At some degree, I can understand the obsession and the mind play that came along with unraveling the mysteries of location, casting and order of contestants being booted off. The whole angle about ChillOne's real identity and the speculations that ChillOne may be Mark Burnett himself was fun reading for me.


It just makes me wonder : If total strangers can come together and rally behind a reality TV show. Can we turn this power of convergence for the common good?

I sure hoppe we're getting there.

What I know

learning is not an individual endeavor. im m experience with my classes in FSO, i learn ed most from the experience and knowledge of my selfless and super helpful classmates.


I have discovered this shortcut to upload slides into iphoto, which i can then use for imovie.

week 1 videos

this new class is a great tool for us to streamline our media projects and polish some rough ends on the skills and knowledge we have acquired in the past several months.

i like how organized my professor is. his videos are also short, to the point and easy to understand. so far the book we have on convergence culture has been interesting, but i don't find it as engaging. maybe chapter 3 will shed some light on it.


food for thought : Just because a media is cool and complex doesn't mean it's always the best choice to use for a presentation.


must remember that.

It's about time

background music : it's about time by the lemonheads

Oh bo, by george, can you believe it, it's month 9 already!!! agrh!!!!
unfortunately, all the grad school work has kept me from blogging about mindfarts and the like.

and to continue with the whining... i just realized that neil gaiman has two books i haven't read yet, and i'm buggin out about it. in fact, rick riordan's last book of tbhe Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series is already out and i didn't have a seizure when i didn't get it on the day it came out.

ah me. i'll get back into shape after graduation. it's all good.

for this month in grad school we will be learning how to manage our media assets, hence, hthe course title. so far the book has been entertaining. i'm reading up on the spoilers of the survivor tv show. i can't wait to read the chapter on harry potter.


lots more to learn, and I am psyched!!!!